Making A Difference

Posted by Andrew Bleier on February 8, 2018.

Scientific reports from around the world have stated that 2017 was the hottest year on record for the world’s oceans. While you probably won’t notice a difference while wading at the beach, there is plenty of reason to worry.

Two obvious victims of rising sea temperatures are our coral reefs and sea ice levels. Fields of the usually vibrantly colored coral reef are now nothing but white skeletons, as the warming waters have led them to expel the colorful algae that they require to live. With the algae gone, the coral starve and die. This matter may seem like it doesn’t affect you personally, but keep in mind that an estimated one billion people depend on coral reefs for food and income. They are also important to preventing coastal erosion, another serious issue for mankind.

Our polar ice caps are melting at unprecedented levels as well, leading to rapidly rising ocean levels. In coastal Louisiana we are losing about a football field of land every hour, 16 square miles every single year. If this continues unchecked, nearly all of New Orleans will be underwater by 2100.

You may be asking yourself, what is causing this? One factor that is beginning to gain global attention is plastic pollution. From the fossil fuels used to create the plastic to the roughly 9 million tons of it that end up in our oceans every year, plastic is a huge problem. It is estimated that by 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by weight, a truly disturbing conclusion.

As readers of this post, we expect these issues have touched your lives as they have ours. We are all in the same boat together. So how can we look at the waters we enjoy and depend on in 2018 with optimism in the face of what is sure to be a continuing flood of increasingly dire statistics and predictions? Our challenge at MAI is to find our own reflection in those waters.

Acknowledgment of our own individual contributions to the problem allows us to set attainable goals, goals that will have a chance of making a positive impact on the health of our oceans. From a business level perspective, 2018 will see MAI making a push to increase manufacturing initiatives on our Marine Trash Skimmer (MTS). We are focusing on flexible installation designs, unit cost reductions and increased inventory in order to put this product where it is needed most, our coastal waters.

The MTS provides a solution for marinas and other waterfront facilities looking to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean with its patented technology. By collecting plastic floating around marinas, the MTS is reducing the likelihood that the plastic will eventually end up in the open waters. Along with catching plastics and other trash, the skimmer also catches pollutants such as oil as it circulates the water around itself.

The skimmer displaces 300 gallons of water per minute, over 400,000 gallons a day, and has a volume of roughly 120 cubic feet. The Marina Trash Skimmer far outweighs its closest competitors in the sheer volume of trash collected. Our skimmers in Southern California each average nearly 17 tons of garbage removed every year.

A small water circulation unit on the bottom of the unit forces water through the skimmer, collecting trash, oil and other debris. Maintenance crews are then able to remove the debris from inside the unit. Marina Trash Skimmers are highly effective, require very little maintenance, operate 24/7 using only 25Kwh electricity per day, resulting in minimal operating expenses.

While the MTS won’t solve the problem of plastic pollution and rising ocean temperatures alone, it is an attainable step in the right direction. If you are interested in being a part of the solution and leading the effort to clean our oceans, lakes and rivers, then you deserve the best equipment available to further your impact. MAI is going to do everything we can in 2018 and beyond to ensure we are helping you make a difference. Remember, we are all in the same boat, so why not let MAI help you paddle?